To Join the Ranks of the Wind Alliance
by Thais of the Star
Summary: A battle is coming. Sides must be chosen. The bond between a young dragon and her rider is tested. Will they stand by each other and rise into the ranks of the last alliance of the dragons against Galbatorix? Sorry, just a stand-alone.


_Disclaimer_: I don't own anything of Alagasia.

To Join The Ranks of the Wind Alliance

Novin gazed into the embers of his fire. The form beside him raised its head, the dim light glittering off scales of red-violet and deep plum-purple eyes with slits for pupils that opened wider in the shadows. Aileen nudged her rider gently with her nose. _You really should feed that fire, you know, little one,_ she told him gently, understanding completely. She, too, was alone, but for him, the only known dragonrider. _Do not despair,_ she encouraged him. _We are together and we will not be separated. It was out of our control, you know; _we_ weren't even alive back then._

_I still feel responsible, though,_ he told her.

_Obviously_, she drawled. Aileen was a master of sarcasm. _Someone once said in my presence, '_the sins of the father shall be visited upon the son_'. But I don't think there was anything an unborn child could have done. And if you don't stop it,_ she threatened, looming close to him in the dark, _I shall _bite_ you._

_Nasty piece of work, aren't you?_ he asked.

_Quite_. The four-year-old dragon nudged him hard enough to almost knock him over.

_But it still hurts, knowing you won't ever know them. I feel both my sorrow and pain for you, and yours well. Don't deny it,_ he told her when she snorted and growled. _You can't hide much from me._

_The same holds true for you_, she observed.

_I know. But you... you will never fly with others of your kind, never hunt with others, never love others..._

_This I know,_ she snapped. _But I have_ you, she continued gently. _I love you, and you love me, and we fly together. And it's quite a bother to divide kills so everyone gets an equal share. I prefer to hunt for only myself, and you when need arises. That was how you found my egg_, she remembered. _Hunting._

He grinned. _Hunting an arrow_ lost _in hunting is more like it. I wasn't very good then. Not that I am an expert now,_ he clarified, remembering other attempts, both recent and long past. Aileen rumbled a dragon-chuckle.

_But you are still alone._

_I know_, she growled, looking away. _What do you wish me to do? Wallow in self-pity all my life?_ The red-violet dragon got up and stalked a few paces away, then sat and gazed up at the stars and moon. After a while she looked down. _I'm sorry_, she told Novin softly.

_I know._

_Get some rest_, she said at last. _I will guard. I cannot sleep in any case._

A little sadly, Novin lay down and closed his eyes. Aileen stayed up, alert, but thinking.

_Alone..._ she whispered to herself.

Great dark wings suddenly filled the skies; a great roar echoed over the valley. Dragons everywhere. Aileen leapt to her feet, spreading her wings in answer and bugling to the skies. They called back in answer- and were gone even as she sprang into the air to follow. How could they leave? She had to go with them- every fiber in her body demanded that she follow. But they were already too far ahead, and too great a lead. She fell behind.

_Come back!_ she called in desperation, trying to catch up. _Don't leave me! Not again!_

_Don't_ you _leave_ me! She pulled up with a snap.

_Novin_. Her rider. Slowly, torn, she turned back and settled back to the ground.

_I will never leave you_, she whispered, still craning her neck for a last glimpse of the dragons. Then Aileen turned back to him. _Never._

Novin swallowed. _If… if you _did_ want to, though-_

_No!_ she snapped, terrified that she had ever even considered it. _You are my rider, I your dragon. We stay together for _always

"Look!" He pointed behind her. Wings upon wings of dragons of all colors. Dozens; hundreds.

_And that is the greatest test of all._ An enormous deep emerald green dragon swooped lower. His voice was deep and ancient, and a rider sat on his neck. _The test of the bond. Not all can refuse the blood call._ He back winged and settled neatly to the ground and came forward proudly. The others landed too, some distance away in a nearly complete circle. Aileen shrank back, but held her ground beside her rider. _Those who would discard that ancient connection, dragon to dragonrider, are a danger to our ranks. Those who accept it, even in the face of the perhaps only sight of another dragon, are an honor to know._ He bowed his great head and the red-violet dragon plucked up enough courage to step forward and do the same.

_Time is short._ A female voice spoke up; Aileen located it as coming from a great copper-scaled. _Will you join the ranks of the Wind Alliance? The time is coming for the final battle, the last union against the forces of darkness. Each of us is needed._

_The time has come to take back the lands we once roamed free in._

Aileen slowly looked down at her rider. _This is not my choice alone, Novin. Do we risk all on this last stand?_

_Do we let them stand alone?_ he asked in return.

A smile grew on the burgundy-scaled dragon's face. She roared up to the sky, a spout of flame shooting into the air. _We fight_, she told the green dragon with a growl.

As one the dragons roared, and launched into the sky.

The newest additions to the Wind Alliance soon joined them, sharing one thought between the bond of dragon and dragonrider. It sang in their blood and minds and hearts:

_We are alone no more._


End file.
